The Short Story: Freshman JeQuan Lewis and sophomore Melvin Johnson came off the bench to combine for 25 points, all of which were critical, as the VCU men's basketball team outlasted a feisty Eastern Kentucky squad, 71-68, in overtime. Junior Treveon Graham led the way for the Black & Gold with 15 points and nine rebounds, while senior Rob Brandenberg connected on four 3-pointers for a total of 12 points on the night. The Rams finished with 10 steals on the night, their seventh double-digit steal performance of the year.

How It Happened:

Eastern Kentucky got out to a quick 10-2 start against the Rams, with all ten points coming in the paint.

The Rams and Colonels traded baskets, with Brandenberg hitting a three from the right corner to bring the Rams within nine at 17-8.

Johnson hit three triples midway through the first half to keep VCU in striking distance, and Graham followed up with a three of his own to put the Rams down five, 25-20.

Graham and Brandenberg continued to strike from three point range, with the Rams making seven first half threes with 3:40 remaining in the first half. The pair of threes brought VCU within four points, at 32-28.

To end the first half, Lewis hit a pair of threes- VCU's eighth and ninth of the half- and Graham tipped home a Briante Weber miss at the buzzer to give the Rams the lead going into halftime at 38-36.

VCU and EKU continued to alternate buckets in the second half, with the Rams trailing by four with 12:08 remaining.

Brandenberg and Graham hit shots to keep the Rams within three with just under seven minutes to play.

Lewis hit a pair of baskets to give the Rams the lead, 61-60, with 3:57 remaining in regulation

With just over three minutes to play, Graham scored a 3-point play to give the Rams a two-point lead.

After a pair of Colonel baskets, Johnson drove down the left baseline, spun to his right and flipped in a layup to tie the game at 66.

A strong Rams defense forced a shot clock violation with 24.5 seconds remaining in the second half. VCU could not score on their final possession, sending the game to overtime.

Brandenberg hit a three from the right corner with just over four minutes to play in overtime to give the Rams a 69-66 lead.

VCU hit two late free throws to give the team a 71-68 advantage.

Up Next

The Rams remain at home on Sunday, December 8th to face in-state rival Old Dominion at 1:30 pm. The game will be shown on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.